On toast, in salads, on nachos - we're ladling avocado on just about everything. It's no longer just a food; it's representative of an entire generation.
I personally have a strong love affair with avocados. I add guacamole for an extra $2 every time. I have pyjamas that say 'Guac and Roll' on them. I've always thought the smashed avocado on toast during Sunday brunch is the healthy option. And it is probably more nutritionally dense than say... French toast with ice-cream and syrup. But as it turns out, you can have too much of a good thing.
Cardiologist Dr Andrew Freeman says he's shocked how much of the fatty fruit we're all consuming in 2018.
"It feels like people are eating avocados by the dozen, like every day," Dr Freeman told The Today Show.
"I tell people to certainly enjoy avocado, but not to overdo it. Because it seems crazy - I just feel like people are eating unbelievable quantities.
"In somewhere like New York, everywhere you go, everyone is eating two or three inches-thick-high piles of avocado on their toast. It's just outrageous."
The problem is that avocados are not calorie-free.
One avocado - about one cup cubed - contains about 240 calories, or about 10-20 percent of most people's daily calorie needs.
Nutritionist Kristin Kirkpatrick told Today those calories "add up quickly".
"You can overdo even healthy foods if it ends up costing you hundreds of extra calories per day that your body simply does not need," she said.
Some of her patients apparently even think fried corn chips are "a healthy snack" when eating them with guacamole.
Don't get me wrong, avocado is packed full of health benefits. One avocado carries around 10 grams of fibre - or almost half of your daily intake - and has a variety of vitamins and minerals, including potassium, vitamin C, vitamin B-6 and magnesium. The fruit is also naturally free of sodium, cholesterol, and sugar.
So enjoy it, but in moderation,
"It's healthy, but it's all about portion control," Tammy Lakatos-Shames, one half of the Nutrition Twins, told DailyMail.com.
"I like to call avocados nutrient boosters because the fat helps you better absorb valuable vitamins of everything else you're eating, especially vitamins A, D, E and K.
"Say you have carrots with your avocado; carrots have keratin in them, which the avocado will help you to absorb. But it's really calorie dense."
Newshub.
